Electric switch



Oct. 18, 1932.

Filed Jan. 51, 1931 Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES @FFEQE WILLIAMC. TREGONING, OF XVAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN, AS$IGNOB T9 CUTLER--HAIMMER.INC, OF MILXVAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATZGN 0F DELA HARE ELECTRICSWITCH Application filed January 31, 1931. Serial No. 512,608.

This invention relates to improvements in electric switches.

An object of the invention is to provide a switch mechanism of simple,rugged and durable construction, the parts of which are not likely tobecome deranged when in use. Another object is to provide a switch ofthe aforementioned character the parts of which may be quickly andinexpensively as sembled.

Another object is to provide movable and stationary switch contact-s andterminal elements of improved form.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

The accompanying drawing illustrates certain embodiments of theinvention which will now be described, it being understood that theembodiments illustrated are susceptible of modification in certaindetails thereof without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is an enlarged perspective view, in separatedrelation, of a single-pole or single-circuit-controlling switchconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a. bottom plan view of the switch shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View, on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the sheet metal blank from which the switchhousing may be formed.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a three-position ormultiple-circuit-controlling switch constructed in accordance with myinvention.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view, on the line 66 of Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section, on the line 77 of Fig. 6, but showing adiflerent fullline position of the bridging contactor of the switch.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the numeral 10 designates a support forthe stationary contact and wiring terminal elements of the switch, saidsupport preferably consisting of a flat punched plate of fiber-board orother suitable insulating material. Spaced longitudinally of plate 10are a pair of substantially rectangular openings 11 and 12.

T he stationary contacts of the switch consist of a pair or" metal studs13 and 14 (preferably solid, as shown)said studs having parallel flatsides and ourvea vertical edges as shown, so that the same are ofsubstantially elliptical form in horizontal cross section. The verticaledges of said studs are cut away for a portion of the len th thereof toprovide shoulders 18 1 P- which are adapted to seat against the uppersurface of slate 10, and to provide shanks 13 14 which are' adapt d topenetrate and fit fairly snugly within the openings 11 and 12.

Underlying plate 10 are a pair of identically formed terminal members 15and 16, said members having horizontal portions 15 15 provided withopenings 15", 16 which are alined with the openings 11, 12 toaccominodate the shanks 13", 1 9 aforementioned,- said shanks having theends thereof upset or riveted over the horizontal portions 15, 16 (asshown in Figs. 2 and 3) to rigidly and permanently secure the contactand terminal members to each other and to plate 10. Members 15, 16 arepreferably provided with integral vertically extending portions 15, 16,said portions 15, 16 being tapped as shown for reception of the bindingscrews 17 of well known form.

The opposite edges or" plate 10 are provided with notches and 19 offsetlongitudinally of the plate relatively to each other, and a notch 20 ofrelatively greater width is provided at one end of the plate.

A one-piece she-e metal housing for the ,2 tell parts is provided, saidhousing comprising a flat top wall 21, parallel side walls ans 23, andtwo pairs of half-end walls I The housing ma be formed from the blankillustrated in Fig. at, the points oi bending being indicated by dottedlines.

ihus the side walls 22, 28 are bent down wardiy at right angles to tenwall 21, and the haliend walls 2" are bent inwardly at right angles towaif 22, T wall 21 is of slightly greater lenetn than the main erforatcdlugs 26, 27 may be provided to facilitate attachment of the housing to asuitable support,the half-end portions 2 1, in the blank being separatedfrom lugs 26, 27 by the notches as shown to facilitate the aforementioned bending operation.

The housing is provided with integral lugs 28, 29, 30 and 31 to registerwith the notches 18 19 and 20 in plate 10, said lugs being bent inwardlyover said plate as shown in the other figures to secure said parts toeach other. The top wall of the housing is provided with an opening 32to provide clearance for the operating lever 33 of the switch,said leverbeing pivotally supported, as by a pin 3% which penetrates the alinedopenings 35, 38 in side walls 22, 23. One end of said pin is headed, andthe other end is swaged or otherwise enlarged after assembly thereofwith respect to lever 33 and the walls 22, 23 of the housing.

The inner end of lever 33 is of reduced diameter to provide the annularshoulder 31' and to provide the integral hollow stud or rivet 38. Strungupon stud 38 is an insulating washer or plate having a downwardly struckannular flange 39 which is accommodated wi hin the relatively largeopening lO in the flat portion 11 of a re silient sheet metalcont-actor. Also strung upon stud 38 beneath said portion a1 is aninsulating Washer 42 having an upwardly struck annular flange 12 whichis complementary to the flange 39 for insulating portion 41 from theactuating lever 33,-the hollow stud 38 being upset over the metal washer43 to rigidly secure the aforementioned parts to each other.

Extending downwardly and inwardly from opposite sides of portion 4-1 ofthe contactor are a pair of fiat resilient arms as and 15, the loweredges li of which are curved as shown, and the end portions in, of whicharms are bent in an are concentric to the pivot pin The arrangement ispreferably such that the edges 1%, 45* are normally spaced from each otler at the mid-points thereof and the same flare away from eachother-toward opposite sides of the respective arms. 1

As shown in 3, the curved edges 4A, 45 are adapted to resiliently engagethe stud contact 1 1 in both the on and the off positions of the switch.The handle portion of lever 33 preferably abuts against the oppositeside walls of the opening 32 in top portion 21 of the housing,- one wall32 (Figs. 1 and i) of said opening'being formed as shown to avoid anypossibility of engagement of the con- 1 tactor with the housing in theon (or dotted line) position of the switch.

As will be apparent from Fig. 3, upon manual operation of lever 33toward the left from the position thereof as illustrated, the edges 44,45* have a camming engagement with stud contact 14: to spread the arms44, 415, so that when the mid-points of said edges pass the center lineof said stud, the energy stored in said arms is released to cause snapmovement of said edges into engagement with stud contact 13 to bridgethe latter and stud 1%. Obviously a similar movement of lever 33 in thereverse direction will result in snap movement of the edges i l, 45 tothe opposite side of stud l l after the mid-points of said edges havepassed the center line of said stud.

lVhile the double-arm form of contactor as illustrated is preferredbecause it provides an extremely well-balanced movement of the switch,it is to be understood that a somewhat similar result may be obtained ifone of the arms 1-1 or 45 is omitted.

The switch parts illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are in general quitesimilar to those aforedescribed except that one contact and terminalmember is added and the contactor is specially formed for cooperationwith the contacts to provide a three-position or muli.e-circult-controlling switch.

In Figs. 1, 5 and 6 the insulating plate 46 is like the plate 10aforedescribed, except that t--ree rectangular openings 47, 18 and 19are located 1r the same position as opening 11, with the openings l8 and19 arranged at equally spaced intervals longitudinally of plate il). Thestud contacts 50, 51 and 52 are identical wit 1 the studs 13, 14aforedescribed and the terminal members therefor are of theaforementioned character. The structure and manner of assembling lever33 is the same in both forms of the switch mechanism. As best shown inFig. 6, however, the arms 53 and 5d of the contactor are reduced inwidth or cut away on one side of the center line of the lever, tocooperate with the less widely spaced stud contacts and to provide forvertical positioning of the lever in an intermediate on posi l n of theswitch.

The switch housing is of the same form as aforedescribed, except thatthe opening 32 in top wall 21 may be completely circular, since due-tothe reduced width of the contactor there is no liability of engagementthereof vith the right-hand wall of the housin the right-hand positionof the switch contactor shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6 and in fulllines in Fig. 7). Figs. 6 and 7 likewise show in dotted lines the oilposition of the contactor at the left-hand side of contact stud 52.

the switches illustrated is particptec for controlling the circuit ordash lights of automobiles.

i to 3 may be assumed that the terf stud contact 13 will be connected toa the other switch terminal being connected with the lamp whose circuitis to be controlled thereby. In Figs. .5, 6 and 7 it may be asill!sumedthat the terminal of the intermediate stud contact is connectedwith the source or" current supply whereas the terminals of studcontacts 50 and 52 are connected with the respective lamps for directlyand indirectly illuminating the automobile dash board or panel.Obviously, however, the switches illustrated are adapted for control ofthe circuits of other types of translating devices of relatively lowcurrent carrying capa ity.

The top wall 21 of the respective switch housin 's ma be )rovided withsuitable l-e secured to said base and pro'ecting upwardly from thelatter, a bridging contactor pivotallysupported independently of saidbase, said contactor having resilient arms the inwardly extending curvededge portions of which are adapted to straddle said stud contacts, andsaid contactor being movable with a snap action to opposite sides of oneoi said stud contacts for bridging engagement v or disengagement fromother oi said stud contacts selectively.

2. In an electric switch, in combination, insulating base, a pluralityof equally spaced stud contacts secured to said base and projectingupwardly from the latter, a contact-or pivotally support-edindependently of said base, said contactor having a resilient arm theinwardly extending curved edge portion of which is arranged at one sideof said stud contacts and biased into engagement wi h the latter, saidcontactor having a number of positions in which it engages each of apair of adjacent stud contacts and another position in which it engagesonly one of said stud coi tacts, and means other than said base and s lstud contacts for limiting movement or said contactor in oppositedirections respectively.

8. In an electric switch, in combination, sheet metal housing ofrectangular form hav ing a top wall and pairs of vertical side and endwalls formed integrally therewith, a switch lever pivotally supported bysaid side walls and having a handle po 'tion extendin outwardly throughan openin provided in said top wall, a contactor rigidlf secured to butinsulated from said lever, said contactor comprising a punched plate ofresilient sheet metal bent into the form of loop having a lower endopening which is of gradually in ii'isulating macerim secured to thelower end n I ,c of said housma, and pluralit or con-tact members secured to said insulating plate a l projecting upw rd y into the path oil saicontactor.

4. In an electric switch, in combination, a sheet metal housing ofrectangular form having top wall and pairs of vertical side and endwalls formed integrally therewith, a switch lever pivotally supported bysaid side rails and having a. handle portion extending outwardly throughan opening provided in said top wall, a contactor rigidly secured to butinsulated from said lever, said contactor comprising a punched plate ofresilient sheet metal bent into the form of a loop having a lower endopening which is of gradually increasing width toward the respectiveside i edges of said cont-actor, a fiat punched plate of insulatingmaterial secured to the lower end of said housing, a plurality ofcontact members of substantially elliptical form in cross sectionextendin upwardly irom said insulating plate into the path of saidcontactor, wiring terminal members underlying said insulatins, plate,said terminal members and said insulating plate having substantiallyrectangular openin formed therein, and said contact members ravingreduced shanks of rectangular form adapted to penetrate said openi as,said shanks being upset over said terminal members to rigidly andpermanently secure all of said parts to each other.

5. In an e ectric switch, in con alnation, punched late of insulatingmaterial, a wiring terminal menrbe having a horizon n underlying d plateand a vei. 01 LlOll laterally ofi set from said horizoi ortion andtapped to receive a binding crew, said plate an" said horizontal portionl alined ar openings e herein, and a contact comprisi" g a stu a portionproecting upwz xly from aid Jlate and a reduced shank of angular crossectizii adapted to penetrate the openings rementioned, trio end or saidshank being 'et over said horizontal portion to rigidly and permanentlyare all of said parts -.gainst movement relatively to z ch other.

6. In an electric switch, in combination punched plate of tsulatingmaterial, a rality of wiring terminal plates having ho sontal portionsunderlying said plate a vertical por ions laterally ens f: m the resective horizontal portions and tapped to receive binding screws, saicplate and said horizontal portions having alined angular openings formedtherein, a plural ty of tionary contacts comprising vertical stds hay ngportions thereof projecting upwardly from said plate and reduced sham-:sof angular cross section adapted to penelrate tl openingsaforementioned, the ends or" said pivoted integrally wi l, the lower endof said lever,

a sheet metal contactor and washer strung upon stud, a pair ofinsulating plates arranged on opposite sid s of said contactor, saidplates having abutting annular flanges to insulate said contactor fromsaid stud, the lower end or" said stud bein riveted over said washer tosecure said parts in assembled relation to each other, and saidcontector having oppositely disposed resilient arms i I A 1 1 providedwith curved on 1e lower end portions oi saic arms ly toward each other,w end edges are arranged in for the purpose set forth.

8. In combir tie a contector for electric I 0 v A? switches comprisingat punched plate of icon lent sheet metal, b9111 be portions of likeform exten ly and lnwar y with respect providing a fired axis OSClicontactor, said arm portions n f e c lower edges and the lower en is ofsaid arm portions having arcuate bends concentri with said axis ofoscillation whereby said edges are opposed to each other for cooper tivebridging en 'a e contacts of the S'WlLCll. V

9. In a three-position snitch, in combination, an idsulating three studcontacts secured to said has and projecting upwardly the ein, con -"lotsbeing arranged in parallel relation and being equally spaced from eachother long' idinally of said base, the en d contacts of cup beingunequally spaced fromthe respecei #8 ends of the base, a combined switchconteotor and actuating lever pivoted independently of said base, saidcon act-or having a resilient arm the in- 'ver edge portion or which isadaptthe center contact and one cent c ts in one ex reme position yr, sad contactor being adapted 7 cc and th other said end contacts 1 theintermediate position of said lever, and sa d contactor bein adapted tothe last mentioned end contact only in the opposite extreme position ofsaid lever.

10. In ti rec-position switch, in combination, an insulating base, threestud contacts secured to said base and projectin upwardly therefrom,said contacts being arranged in parallel relation and being equallyspaced from each other longitudinally of said base, the end contacts ofthe group being unequally spaced from the respective ends of the base, acombined switch contactor and actuating lever pivoted independently ofsaid base, said contactor iaving a resilient arm the interned lower edgeportion of which is adapted to bridge the center contact and one of theend contacts in one extreme position of said lever, said coutactor beingadapted to bridge the center contact and the other of said end contactsin the intermediate position of said lever, said cont actor beingadapted to engage the last mentioned end contact only in the oppositeextreme position of said lever, said nturned lower edge portion of saidconofior b ing arranged in an arc concentric wit"- the pivot point ofsaid lever, and the main body of said oontactor arm being offset iongitrdinslly of said base with reference to the lcngitudine center line ofsaid lever.

for electric switches como1 rovide for rigid attachment of said stud toa table support.

in witness whereof, I hav hereunto subscribed my name.

il YLLIAM C. TREGONING.

